Monthly Archives: September 2010

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Tired techies turn to ayurveda

September 17, 2010 4:10 am /

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Tired_techies_turn_to_ayurveda/articleshow/2649232.cms

BANGALORE: There are ways and ways of deleting stress. But techies in Bangalore are logging on to the country’s ancient wisdom to de-stress: they are increasingly finding solace in ayurvedic remedies.

And this year-end, they are heading straight to ayurveda therapy centres, hospitals and nature spas in Kerala. Like Nimesh Chary and Pavan Vangaroo. They are all set to board a flight to Kochi where they will go through a five-day ayurvedic rejuvenation and relaxation therapy.

“There is hardly any balance between work and life today. At the end of every year, I feel like a balloon filled with stress. I roped in a friend to join me on this de-stressing tour,” says Chary. After having chased series of project delivery deadlines and unrealistic business goals round the year, software engineers feel they need this annual soothing break.

“Over 90% of our clients in the last one year have been IT professionals, and over 70% of them were from Bangalore. Most of them come with stress while some come with chronic cases like heart ailments,” says Gopala Krishnan, MD of an ayurvedic centre based in Alappuzha.

According to Babu Vincent, MD of a firm that books leisure and spa holidays for IT professionals, the demand for ayurvedic rejuvenation packages has been on the rise. “The number has been exceptionally high this year and 95% of our bookings for Xmas and New Year are from the IT sector.”

Quoting a recent study conducted by Lady Harding’s Medical College in New Delhi among tech workers, A M Anvar of a Kochi hospital says: “The study found that 93% of IT people were morbid and had high chances of falling chronically ill. Ayurveda is viewed as a medicinal system for the old. But now the young tech community is changing that notion.”

According to Dr Nilakandan Moose of a Trichur-based ayurveda firm, “Everything that works needs periodic service. Human beings tend to wait for a breakdown. Thankfully, this tendency is slowly changing.”

And this year-end, they are heading straight to ayurveda therapy centres, hospitals and nature spas in Kerala. Like Nimesh Chary and Pavan Vangaroo. They are all set to board a flight to Kochi where they will go through a five-day ayurvedic rejuvenation and relaxation therapy.

“There is hardly any balance between work and life today. At the end of every year, I feel like a balloon filled with stress. I roped in a friend to join me on this de-stressing tour,” says Chary. After having chased series of project delivery deadlines and unrealistic business goals round the year, software engineers feel they need this annual soothing break.

“Over 90% of our clients in the last one year have been IT professionals, and over 70% of them were from Bangalore. Most of them come with stress while some come with chronic cases like heart ailments,” says Gopala Krishnan, MD of an ayurvedic centre based in Alappuzha.

According to Babu Vincent, MD of a firm that books leisure and spa holidays for IT professionals, the demand for ayurvedic rejuvenation packages has been on the rise. “The number has been exceptionally high this year and 95% of our bookings for Xmas and New Year are from the IT sector.”

Quoting a recent study conducted by Lady Harding’s Medical College in New Delhi among tech workers, A M Anvar of a Kochi hospital says: “The study found that 93% of IT people were morbid and had high chances of falling chronically ill. Ayurveda is viewed as a medicinal system for the old. But now the young tech community is changing that notion.”

According to Dr Nilakandan Moose of a Trichur-based ayurveda firm, “Everything that works needs periodic service. Human beings tend to wait for a breakdown. Thankfully, this tendency is slowly changing.”

Posted in: Ayurveda / Tagged: ,

Home remedies to prevent hairloss and dandruff

September 17, 2010 4:04 am /

1. Applying juice of neem or margosa leaves to scalp prevent dandruff and hair loss caused by it.

2. Washing hair and scalp with decoction of neem leaves helps to prevent hair loss and stabilizes color.

3. Boil few pieces of amla, curry leaves and neem leaves in pure coconut oil till it becomes crisp. Massage this oil on scalp. This is best tonic for hair growth.

4. Rubbing scalp with equal quantity of amla juice and lime juice after washing hair help in hair loss and increases the luster.

5. Consuming fresh lettuce leaves or lettuce juice helps in growth of hair.

6. After washing hair with cold water, rub the scalp vigorously with finger tips till you feel the heat. This effectively controls hair loss.

7. Applying a pack of soaked and ground fenugreek seeds for half an hour help to prevent dandruff.

Posted in: Hair care / Tagged: , , ,

Blame stress for shaky gums, common colds

September 17, 2010 3:58 am /

NEW YORK: Stress kills. Its potentially fatal effect on the heart is well documented. But new research suggests that it is probably the reason for everything from decaying gums to common colds.

An article in Observer, the monthly magazine of the Association for Psychological Science, cites new research across psychology, medicine, neuroscience and genetics to conclude that stress is at the root of a whole range of health problems.

Stress encompasses the strains experienced by living organisms in their struggles to adapt and cope with changing environments. When danger is perceived, a chain reaction of signals releases hormones like epinephrine (‘adrenaline’), norepinephrine and cortisol from the adrenal glands.

These hormones kick up the heart rate, increase respiration, and up the glucose levels in the blood — enabling the ‘fight or flight’ reaction. As these responses take a lot of energy, cortisol tells other physical processes — including digestion, reproduction, physical growth and some aspects of the immune system — to shut or slow down.

When the threat passes, the body’s stress thermostat adjusts accordingly.Cortisol levels return to normal and the body resumes its usual functions.

But problems occur when stresses don’t let up, or when, for various reasons, the brain continually perceives stress even if it isn’t really there.

This causes prolonged exposure to cortisol, which inhibits the growth of new neurons and can cause increased growth of the amygdala, the portion of the brain that controls fear and other emotional responses. It also affects the hippocampus, an area that helps form new memories.

Researchers now say these brain changes are at the heart of the link between stress and depression as well as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Besides heart disease, PTSD, and depression, chronic stress has been linked to ailments as diverse as intestinal problems, gum disease, erectile dysfunction, adult-onset diabetes, growth problems, and even cancer.

economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/ET_Cetera/Blame_stress_for_shaky_gums_common_colds/articleshow/2688354.cms

Chronic rises in stress hormones have been shown to accelerate the growth of pre-cancerous cells and tumours; they also lower the body’s resistance to HIV and cancer-causing viruses.

Posted in: Men Health / Tagged: , , ,

Pomegranate juice as good as Viagra

September 17, 2010 3:54 am /

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2586221.cms

Men who want to boost their performance in the bedroom should drink pomegranate juice, says a new research. According to the University of California scientists, a daily glass can act like Viagra.

Lead author Dr Christopher Forest says that the juice is rich in antioxidants, which increases blood supply to the genitals. For the study, the team tested 53 men with libido problems. They found that nearly half the men who drank it for a month said they found it easier to perform.

“Pomegranate juice has great potential,” the ‘Mirror’ quoted Forest, as saying.

Pomegranates have already been associated with reducing the risk of heart disease and preventing prostate cancer.

Researchers had previously asserted that a daily 0.236 litre glass of the fruit’s juice not only increases the stability period of prostate cancer four-fold, but that the effect is so marked that they believe it can also make it possible for men between the ages of 60 to 75 to live out a full life span without the need for medical treatment, rather than dying from the cancer.

That study was conducted by researchers from the University of California who looked at 50 prostate cancer patients who had surgery or radiotherapy, who had experienced a post-treatment increase of PSA (prostate specific antigen), indicating that cancer was still present in their bodies.

During the study, the researchers measured the men’s PSA levels to calculate how long they took to double. They found that men suffering from prostate cancer with short doubling times are more likely to die from their illness, and that the average doubling time is 15 months.

They noted that consuming a glass of pomegranate juice everyday extended the doubling period to 54 months, and that there was also evidence that the juice was actually killing off prostate cancer cells.

Dr Allan Pantuck, who led the study, said that the improvements had been surprising, and that though it was not a cure, scientists may now be able to stump prostate cancer growth.

Posted in: Herbs and uses / Tagged: , , ,

Stress on health

September 17, 2010 3:46 am /

hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2005/04/07/stories/2005040701500100.htm

THIRTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD RADHA is your typical middle-class working mother. Mother of two children studying in the third and fifth standards, her worst fear in life is the milkman or the maid not showing up in the morning.

“I have so many things to do in the morning. Cook, clean, dress up the kids, pack lunchboxes, put the kids in the school van, send my husband to work and then myself go to work. I just lose it when something goes wrong,” she says. That is if the milkman or the maid fails to show up, the utensils, the kids and the husband pay the price for it.

Twenty-two-year-old Richard passed out of college a year back. He now works on night shift in a call centre. After a long night dealing with irate credit card users, he longs to get some sleep in the morning. But morning is the time when his house is buzzing with activity.

“I just can’t get sleep in the morning. There is so much noise. Everyone wants to do everything in the morning. So I end up sleeping just five hours a day,” he complains. His workload and lack of sleep have ensured that his temper is always on a short fuse. But anger is the least of his problems; he suffers from everything, indigestion to anaemia.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Amit, an art director with an advertising agency, has problems of a different kind. Married for two years, his wife was unable to conceive. Worried, Amit and his wife went to a fertility clinic where doctors found that Amit had very low sperm count, coupled with erectile dysfunction.

All three mentioned above — Radha, Richard and Amit — suffer from excessive stress. And today on World Health Day, it is America’s number one and Bangalore’s growing healthcare problem.

There are no reliable numbers available for people suffering from high stress levels in the city, but it is believed that over 75 per cent Americans have “great stress” once a week.

High stress levels lead to a range of health problems in addition to accompanying psychological problems. And the number one source remains job stress, though stress levels have increased in all sections of the society. “We cannot live without stress. Our body is always stressed but it is high levels of stress that lead to various problems. We are stressed while running, but the stress is anticipated. When you have emotional upsets or suppressed anger, then you start doing some real damage to the heart because the strain lasts for a longer time and is repeated over and over again. It hastens build-up of cholesterol in the coronary arteries and weakens the heart muscles,” warns K.S.S. Bhat, Consultant Cardiologist, Manipal Hospital, and President of the Indian College of Cardiology.

Though the heart is one of the first organs to be affected by excessive stress, symptoms are first noticed when the behaviour of a person changes. Classic symptoms include insomnia, low energy levels, feeling of inadequacy, decreased concentration levels, social withdrawal, excessive anger, self-pity and tearfulness. Marital relations are often the first to be affected by this drastic change in behaviour.

“Often people come back so tired from work they are reluctant to have sex. But it is interpreted as not liking the partner. Also, as stress levels increase, it leads to impotence. About one-third cases of erectile dysfunction are due to stress. So sex takes a backseat and the relationship suffers,” says Vinod Chebbi, psychotherapist and sex and marriage counsellor.

He also points out to another interesting source of stress that prevents people from enjoying sex:

“In India, there is great stress to become pregnant after marriage. The pressure from relatives often becomes so unbearable that sex becomes an act for just having a child. If it fails, the couple go to the extent of even seeking donor semen or fertility treatment,” says Dr. Chebbi.

Both Dr. Chebbi and Dr. Bhat prefer to relieve that extra stress without medication. Exercise, regular food habits and good time management is the mantra, they say.

“There is nothing like a brisk walk in the morning or evening,” says Dr. Bhat.

And to solve marital stress, Dr. Chebbi advises: “The couple must spend time together. They must get used to each other and enjoy time together. About 95 to 97 per cent of stress-related sex can be treated with just non-drug therapy.”

* * *
Fast lane to perdition

IF YOU’RE one of the lucky few who’ve coped well so far, here are some wicked tips to help you join mainstream society:

Never exercise

Eat anything you want

Gain weight

Take plenty of stimul-ants (nicotine, caffeine and alcohol)

Get rid of your social support system (friends)

Personalise all criticism

Throw out your sense of humour

Males and females alike — be macho

Become a workaholic

Discard good time-management skills

Procrastinate

Worry about things you can’t control (tsunamis, earthquakes and Osama Bin Laden)

Become not only a perfectionist but also set impossibly high standards for yourself

Posted in: Men Health / Tagged: , ,

Soft drinks up risk of gout: Study

September 17, 2010 3:40 am /

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Soft_drinks_up_risk_of_gout_Study/rssarticleshow/2748274.cms
LONDON: It has long been considered as a disease of the rich. But, no more. Gout can affect all those who have a sweet tooth, according to a new study.

A team of international researchers has carried out the study and found that high consumption of sugar-loaded soft drinks and fruit juices substantially ups the risk of gout which is a painful joint disease.

According to the team, the risks associated with these fizzy drinks are worse than hard liquor.

“This is the first study and a very large one, linking the commonly consumed products to this common disorder. We’ve found that if you have high consumption of fructose, your gout risk is doubled. And that’s due to easily available sugary beverages,” lead researcher Hyon K Choi of the British Columbia University was quoted by the British media as saying.

The researchers came to the conclusion after following more than 46,000 men aged above 40 with no previous history of gout over a period of 12 years – the participants’ intake of soft drinks, fruits and fruit juices was monitored.

The team found that the risk of developing gout was 85 per cent higher among men who drank two or more cans of soft drinks daily than those who consumed less than one a month – this is greater than the risk linked to drinking spirits.

Men who consumed large amounts of fruit juice or fructose-rich fruits, such as apples and oranges, also had a higher risk of the condition. However, those who drank diet soft drinks showed no extra risk.

“These findings support the importance of recommending a reduction in fructose intake in patients with hyperuricaemia and gout in order to reduce the risk of gout,” according to co-researcher Gary Curhan of the Harvard Medical School.

The results of the study have been published in the British Medical Journal .

Posted in: Gout / Tagged: ,

For a radiant skin..

September 17, 2010 3:36 am /

Our face is the mirror of our personality – we are wearing it all the time, contrary to our clothes and jewellery, which we change constantly. So, as requested, I will be doing a series on basic skin care that involves cleaning, toning and moisturising.

Cleansing
OUR skin is the most vulnerable organ of the body. It is constantly exposed to pollution, grime and the adversities of the weather, and not surprisingly, all of us have some skin problems at some stage of life. There is no magic potion that can make your spots and pimples disappear overnight or a remedy to turn the clock back to give you the skin of your youth. However, there is a way by which you can improve your skin, bring it back to good health and even rejuvenate it. The skin has tremendous powers of regeneration when properly cared for and it is never too late to start.

An effective skin care regime which yields maximum benefits comprises a daily routine of cleansing, toning and moisturising – what in beauty language is called CMT.

Cleansing is the most important of these three. Whatever the texture and type of your skin, it requires thorough cleansing. If you look at unclean skin through a magnifying glass, the surface is covered by a film of dirt, sweat, oil deposits, stale make-up and other pollutants. They not only upset the normal balance of the skin but also hamper its natural functions.

Soap and water are the most common cleaning agents used by all of us. We feel comfortable with soap and water because water is refreshing while soap imparts a clean feeling. Actually soap only cleanses the skin superficially and does not remove every trace of grime, oil and other debris.

Do you know that most soaps being alkaline, remove the skin’s natural oils and moisture. Besides, excessive use of soap and water can lower the acid level of the skin and encourage bacterial activity.

The cleaning procedure should be such that it prevents the accumulation of dead epithelial cells. The build-up of dead cells presents many problems – it causes the skin texture to become thicker and the skin looks rough and uneven. Whenever there is accumulation of dead cells, the skin starts looking dark and patchy. Pigmentation also increases and this imparts a blotchy appearance. If proper cleansing is not done, the pores get blocked and you can have a face full of blackheads.

To clean your skin, you must know what type of skin you have. Every individual has a unique skin texture. Skin conditions can be generally characterised into three categories.

Oily skin: It has a shiny appearance with large visible pores containing blackheads and white heads and the texture, if thick, coarse and sallow yellow.

Dry skin: There are two types of dry skins – the oil-dry and the moisture-dry. The oil dry skin is sensitive and has flaky patches with no visible pores. It tends to age and wrinkle prematurely unless carefully looked after. The moisture-dry skin has a fine texture. Its appearance is taut and dry with a tendency to chap easily and even at early age, may show lines around the eyes and mouth.

Combination skin condition: This skin is partly dry and partly oily. The central part of the face – the forehead, nose, chin and parts of the cheek look glossy and oily. The other parts appear dry.

Home tests:
For the test, all that is needed is a few strips of tissue paper.

In the morning, before washing your face, rub the strips gently across your forehead, nose and cheeks by sliding them back and forth. The strips will either gain greasy stains or remain transparent and clear.

If the strips used on forehead, nose and chin are greasy, whereas the strips used on the cheeks are clean, you have a combination skin. If all the strips are greasy, including the ones used on the cheek, you have an extremely oily skin. If all the strips are clean and transparent, it means you have a dry skin. Through this test, you can find out the skin type and also know of parts that are excessively oily or dry.

Cleansing procedures:
FOR a cleansing procedure to be effective, it has to perform three important functions:

Remove surface grime

Cleanse without disturbing the normal balance

Keep the skin surface free from dead cells

Normal to dry skins:
CLEAN your skin twice a day using a glycerine soap. Choose and invest in a good cleansing soap or face wash. If you can afford it, it is best to use a face wash as this is perfectly formulated for the skin of your face. For dry skin, use a face wash that contains aloe vera which cleans without disturbing the normal PH balance.

They have powerful curative properties and aid the skin’s natural ability to retain moisture. They also contain certain enzymes that help to dissolve and remove the cells from the skin surface.

Normal to oily skin:

Oily and problem skins require a medicated cleanser/soap.

Combination Skin:
Should be cleansed according to the dry skin procedure for the dry areas on the face and oily skin procedure for the oily areas. In other words, the two areas of the face have to be treated differently.

If you use heavy makeup:

Clean your face with cleansing milk as soap, water and face wash are not good to remove make-up. After the make-up is removed wash your face.

Some tips for washing with water:
* Avoid using very hot or very cold water. Very hot water removes the natural oils and very cold water closes the pores.

* After cleansing, wash well with plenty of water, especially if you have an oily skin. Do not rub dry with a towel; just pat dry.

* If the water is chlorinated or hard, it can dry the skin further. So, if you have dry skin, use mineral water or bore well water.

* If you have a very dry skin with rough, reddish patches that flake, you are suffering from dry-skin sensitivity. Discontinue soap immediately and use a face wash or no soap at all.

Homemade cleansing scrub:

Mix ¼ cup Multani Mitti (fullers earth), ¼ cup dried orange peel, 2 tablespoons sandalwood powder/oatmeal and store in a container in the bathroom. Take one teaspoon mixed with water and work into the skin in a circular upward motion. Rinse with warm water. Use every other day.

Cleansing mask:
Mix ¼ teaspoon fullers earth, some tomato pulp and yoghurt in a little cucumber juice and apply on the face; leave it on for 15-20 minutes. Rinse it with cold water. You should apply this mask at least twice a week.

Posted in: Beauty tips / Tagged: , , , , , ,

25 per cent of infertility patients have sexual problems: survey

September 17, 2010 3:22 am /

www.thehindu.com/2006/02/13/stories/2006021315831000.htm

Sexual problems can be both the cause and the effect of infertility and infertility treatments themselves can often cause sexual dysfunction in normal couples, a study by the Indian Institute of  Sexual Medicine of Aakash Institute of Fertility and Research, has shown.

Out of a total number of 5,728 infertility patients surveyed by the institute from 1996 to 2005, 20 to 25 per cent were found to have sexual problems. Among male patients, 89 per cent had erectile dysfunction, 20 per cent suffered from anejaculation, 32 per cent had extreme premature ejaculation, and three per cent reported lower libidos, K.S. Jeyarani Kamaraj, infertility specialist of the institute said while presenting the results of the study during the First International Conference on Sexology organised by the institute here on Sunday.

Among sexual problems causing infertility, erectile dysfunction was found to be the main factor. While factors such as poor sex education, lack of sexual knowledge and conservatism were found to be the cause of unconsummated marriages, urban-life related stress, long working hours/working in shifts and lack of privacy were found to be the cause of infrequent intercourse between couples, she added.

In an interactive session devoted to lots of plain-talking on the myths and realities surrounding sex, renowned sexologist Prakash Kothari said sexual disorders were amongst the most common human disorders.

Anxiety over sexual performance bred a cycle of conflict, hostility, fear, shame and guilt and several myths and misconceptions paralysed sexual response. Masturbation was often found to be a safe sexual outlet as it could avoid unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and did not result, as was often believed, in impotency.

Conditions such as diabetes and alcoholism affected sexual performance as they resulted in lesser blood flow to the genital organs. Lack of semen did not affect sexual performance and it was a myth to state that celibacy led to increased physical strength.

Another misconception was that the hymen was a proof of a woman’s virginity or that the size of genital organs mattered in sexual performance. Homosexuality and lesbianism were not aberrant sexual behaviour.

Aphrodisiacs may provoke desire but if overdosed, they could also affect performance, he said.

Posted in: Men Health / Tagged: , , ,

A nanotech solution to wrinkled skin

September 17, 2010 3:15 am /

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/January/09010602.asp

Those of us unhappy with our ageing skin may find solace in nanotechnology. Researchers who have discovered that nanoparticles prevent thin polymer films from buckling say their concept could be applied to stop human skin wrinkling too.

Nanoparticles are already marketed in cosmetic skin products; usually because they can penetrate much deeper into skin than conventional creams, delivering vitamins that are supposed to plump and soften the skin, reducing wrinkling. The approach of Ilsoon Lee, of Michigan State University, US, is somewhat different: nanoparticles in sufficient concentration, he suggests, may stop the skin ever wrinkling in the first place.

That’s because the same underlying principles of wrinkling lie behind human skin and the polymer film systems which Lee has been investigating. Human skin, Lee says, consists of a thinner outer layer (the epidermis, around 50-100 ?m thick) resting on top of a thicker layer (the dermis, around 1-3 mm thick). Similarly, thin polymer films used to create anticorrosion, water-repelling, or biocompatible surfaces, and also in electronic devices like thin film transistor (TFT) screens, are formed on top of a thicker substrate – a flexible plastic, for example.

Although skin is a living material, vastly more complicated than a polymer film, Lee believes that both heated film and aged skin wrinkle permanently because they stiffen up more than the soft plastic or dermis below them. The same effect is seen in dried fruits, when thin dried skin stiffens over a soft interior.

Lee and his colleague Troy Hendricks wanted to prevent polymer films from buckling as they were compressed or heated during the manufacturing process. Wrinkled films, Lee told Chemistry World, can be a problem for electronic applications; for instance, the wrinkles can approach the size of the increasingly small features printed on the film, disrupting an electronic device’s function.

The researchers found that 50 nm silica particles deposited in layers through a thin polyelectrolyte film stopped the film from wrinkling up when heated or compressed. Lee suggests that the particles work by redistributing stress forces out of the plane of the film. The nanoparticles might affect the film’s performance, Lee conceded; though in the case he tried, the film stayed transparent to light as required. His group are testing different sorts of nanoparticles, of varying size and shape, to see if they have the same anti-wrinkling properties.

In themselves, said Geoffrey Ozin of the University of Toronto, California, US, these results are ‘extremely interesting and scientifically surprising’. But Lee thinks that the same principles could be applied in a cosmetic product or implantable device to stop skin wrinkling too.

‘We don’t mean that people will literally bombard their skin with nanoparticles,’ Lee told Chemistry World (though he pointed out that injecting a toxin, Botox, into one’s skin to remove wrinkles also sounds strange). Instead, he speculates that wrinkle-free film could be sandwiched between protecting layers, to be used in artificial skins for surgery, or implanted onto a face. Another route involves a topical cream containing materials which act in human skin as the nanoparticles behave in thin films.

There are obvious health and safety issues with such applications – the nanoparticles will have to be cleared for toxicity. Nor may Lee’s technique be generally applicable, if skin doesn’t behave in the same way as thin films do. But it’s an intriguing possibility: one more cosmetic spin-off to add to nanotech’s lengthening list.

Posted in: Beauty tips / Tagged: ,

Men’s Health – Diabetes

September 17, 2010 3:11 am /

http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/mens-health/mens-health-diabetes-458.html

Individuals who suffer from diabetes are at higher risk for kidney disease, arteriosclerosis, blindness, heart disease, nerve diseases, and are at greater risk for infections than the general population.

Because diabetes can cause problems related to the nerves and blood vessels it can cause neuropathy, a condition which causes nerve damage throughout the body. Erectile dysfunction, as a result of neuropathy is common in more than half of men who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Nerve damage does not allow proper communication to achieve an erection, and narrow blood vessel damage does not allow healthy circulation of blood in and out of the penis. The emotional response to engage in intercourse is there, but nerve damage and blood vessel constriction do not allow the proper physical response. This type of problem, diabetes related erectile dysfunction, does not respond as well to drugs such as Viagra as non diabetes related erectile dysfunction.

A diabetic male who is experiencing erectile dysfunction should speak to his health professional. This will determine if the problem is entirely related to diabetes.

Other ways to help with the diabetes related problems include:

• Controlling blood sugar
• Avoid all forms of tobacco
• Reduce or avoid alcohol consumption
• Seek treatment for cardiovascular risk
• Seek counseling if diabetes and erectile dysfunction are causing depression

Diabetes, if neglected, can lead to serious health issues besides erectile dysfunction. Proper diet and a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce the consequences of diabetes and if treatment is started early and is persistent, the risk of erectile dysfunction and other health problems will be greatly reduced. If you believe you have symptoms of diabetes see your health care professional immediately.

Posted in: Men Health / Tagged: , ,